Skip Navigation


Nicotine & Tobacco Research Advance Access originally published online on May 27, 2009
Nicotine & Tobacco Research 2009 11(7):812-822; doi:10.1093/ntr/ntp067
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Article Summary
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
11/7/812    most recent
ntp067v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Field, M.
Right arrow Articles by Schoenmakers, T.
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Field, M.
Right arrow Articles by Schoenmakers, T.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Attentional bias modification in tobacco smokers

Matt Field, Theodora Duka, Elizabeth Tyler and Tim Schoenmakers

Matt Field, Ph.D., School of Psychology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
Theodora Duka, MD., Ph.D., Department of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
Elizabeth Tyler, BSc., School of Psychology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
Tim Schoenmakers, Ph.D., Clinical Psychological Science, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands

Corresponding Author: Matt Field, School of Psychology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZA, UK. Telephone: +44-0151-7941137; Fax: +44-0151-7942945. E-mail: mfield{at}liverpool.ac.uk


  Abstract

Introduction: We examined whether an attentional bias modification (ABM) procedure would produce a persistent and generalizable change in attentional bias, and influence subjective craving and tobacco-seeking behavior, among tobacco smokers.

Methods: Seventy-two cigarette smokers were randomly allocated to groups before completing a modified visual probe task in which their attentional bias for smoking-related cues was increased ("attend smoking" group), reduced ("avoid smoking" group), or not manipulated (control group).

Results: The ABM produced the predicted changes in attentional bias, although these effects were short lasting, and there was no evidence of generalization either to novel smoking-related stimuli or to performance on a different measure of attentional bias (the pictorial Stroop task). ABM had no effects on subjective craving or behavioral measures of tobacco seeking.

Discussion: These results add to a growing body of literature that suggests that a single session of ABM does not produce generalizable effects, and effects on craving and drug seeking are inconsistent across studies. Theoretical implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Received: November 3, 2008; Accepted: March 11, 2009
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.